Poisonous plants include, but aren’t limited to, rhododendron, azaleas, pieris japonica (Lily of the Valley) and many other ornamental shrubs, plants, flowers and bulbs. We suggest making sure that any children, neighbors, and friends know not to feed your goats anything over the fence including yard trimmings. Also make sure nothing poisonous is growing adjacent to the fence line where your goats are living. They have an incredible reach and as the plant grows, the goats may be able to reach it when they couldn’t before. A more comprehensive list can be found here: http://poisonousplants.ansci.cornell.edu/goatlist.html

If you suspect your goat has been poisoned, call your vet immediately! It can take several hours for symptoms to show up. If you witness your goat ingest a poisonous plant or suspect that it has, administer activated charcoal or Toxiban immediately and call your vet. Pepto-Bismol can also help coat their stomach while you wait for your vet to arrive. We recommend always having activated charcoal gel, or Toxiban on hand. Please use caution if administering anything orally to your goat. Make sure they are swallowing properly to avoid anything you are administering going into their windpipe.

Symptoms of poisoning include wailing, salivating, white foam, or green slime around lips and/or vomiting. Do not orally administer any products if your goat is actively vomiting.

Depending on how much they ingest and how early it is caught, goats can recover but it can take days and they will be very sick until all toxins are purged. Maintain warm, clean water and good hay for them during this recovery phase.